Delivery tray and packaging system for medical items

ABSTRACT

A deliver tray for medical items includes a plurality of receiving spaces each intended to receive a single medical item. The lower face of the tray has a plurality of caps, the caps being arranged and sized such that when the tray is stacked on a second identical tray, the caps of the tray are able to close the receiving spaces of the second tray. A packaging system comprises a vessel having an opening, a bottom and a peripheral wall. The system also includes a stack formed by a plurality of trays, and a porous lid that is sealed on the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the vessel (10) to close it. The disclosure also relates to a packaging method, in particular, comprising a vacuumization step.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a), this application claims the benefit ofthe filing date of French Patent Application Serial No. 2009215, filedSep. 11, 2020, for “DELIVERY TRAY AND PACKAGING SYSTEM FOR MEDICALITEMS,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in itsentirety by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a tray and a packaging system forpackaging, delivering and dispensing medical items. It also relates to amethod of packaging medical items. The present disclosure relates morespecifically to the packaging, with a view to their distribution, ofstoppers that are intended to close medical vials.

Technological Background of the Invention

Stoppers of this kind are generally delivered in bulk and poured into avibrating bowl feeder, or simply placed in a tray, in order to then beplaced, by hand or automatically by a machine, one by one on a vial inorder to close it.

These delivery solutions are not adequate if the stoppers are intendedto close vials intended for medical use. In this case, the stoppers andthe vials must be free from any contamination, in particular,particulate contamination. However, if no particular precaution istaken, the contact and friction between the stoppers themselves orbetween the stoppers and the surfaces of the tray or vibrating bowlfeeder are liable to generate particles that may then be found on thestoppers, and subsequently in the vials. This can have very seriousconsequences if the vial is used to contain a medical solution intendedto be withdrawn by a syringe, since the particles may then be found inthe syringe and then injected into the body of a patient.

It is therefore important to have a solution for packaging anddelivering vial stoppers, and more generally medical items or packagingitems, that makes it possible to limit the generation of particles.

Documents EP2753550 and U.S. Pat. No. 10,064,787 disclose trays andpackaging systems that make it possible to individually store differenttypes of medical items (syringes, vials). These medical items cannotcontact each other, and thus the generation of particles is reduced.EP2753550 seeks, more specifically, to reduce the contact surface areabetween the medical items and the surface of a tray in order to reducethe friction zones.

Object of the Invention

An aim of the present disclosure is to provide a tray, a packagingsystem and a packaging method that differ from and improve on the priorart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve this aim, the object of the present disclosureprovides a delivery tray for medical items, the tray comprising a lowerface and an upper face, the upper face having a plurality of receivingspaces each intended to receive a single medical item.

According to the present disclosure, the lower face of the tray has aplurality of caps, the caps being arranged and dimensioned so that, whenthe tray is stacked on a second identical tray, the caps of the tray areable to close receiving spaces of the second tray.

According to other advantageous and non-limiting features of the presentdisclosure, taken alone or in any technically feasible combination:

-   -   each receiving space is delimited laterally by a partition        perpendicular to the upper face of the tray;    -   each cap is delimited laterally by a wall perpendicular to the        lower face of the tray;    -   the caps of the tray are arranged, respectively, in line with        the receiving spaces of the tray, referred to as first tray, and        are dimensioned, respectively, to close the receiving spaces of        a second identical tray and underlying the first tray, by        interlocking or by abutment of the partitions of the receiving        spaces of the second tray and the facing walls of the caps of        the first tray;    -   the receiving spaces each have an inner surface, the inner        surface of the receiving spaces being provided with at least one        lateral support element to support and limit the lateral        movements of the medical item in the receiving space;    -   each receiving space has a solid bottom, formed by the upper        face of the tray, and each cap has a solid bottom, formed by the        lower face of the tray;    -   the caps are each provided with a vertical support element to        support and limit the vertical movement of a medical item        arranged in the receiving space of the second tray on which the        tray has been stacked;    -   each receiving space has a perforated bottom, and each cap has a        perforated bottom, due to the presence of an orifice in the        tray, centered on the bottom of each receiving space, the        orifice associated with a receiving space having dimensions        smaller than the dimensions of a medical item that is intended        to occupy the receiving space;    -   an upper part of the receiving spaces is deformable.

According to another aspect, the object of the present disclosureproposes a packaging system for medical items comprising:

-   -   a vessel having an opening, a bottom and a peripheral wall;    -   a stack formed by a plurality of trays as described above, the        stack being placed in the vessel; and    -   a porous lid that is sealed on an upper edge of the peripheral        wall of the vessel to close it.

According to other advantageous and non-limiting features of the presentdisclosure, taken alone or in any technically feasible combination:

-   -   the packaging system further comprises a cover arranged on the        stack of trays to close the receiving spaces of a top tray of        the stack;    -   the cover is a rigid plate provided on a lower face with a        plurality of caps capable of closing the receiving spaces of the        top tray of the stack;    -   the cover comprises a plurality of strips provided with caps        capable of closing the receiving spaces of the top tray of the        stack;    -   the strips and the caps are made of a flexible material;    -   each strip comprises bending regions formed between each cap;    -   the receiving spaces of a top tray of the stack are closed by        unitary stoppers;    -   the bottom of the vessel is provided with bosses configured to        fit into the caps of a bottom tray of the stack;    -   the vessel is placed, under vacuum, in at least one impermeable        bag.

According to yet another aspect, the object of the present disclosureprovides a method of packaging medical items comprising the followingsteps:

-   -   providing a vessel having an opening, a bottom and a peripheral        wall;    -   arranging a bottom tray as described above at the bottom of the        vessel;    -   arranging at least one additional tray as described above to        form a stack of trays in the vessel, the caps of the additional        tray closing the receiving spaces of a directly underlying tray;    -   sealing a porous lid on an upper edge of the peripheral wall of        the vessel;    -   placing the vessel in at least one impermeable bag, and placing        the bag under vacuum.

According to other advantageous and non-limiting features of the presentdisclosure, taken alone or in any technically feasible combination:

-   -   the lid is secured to the vessel by welding the lid to the upper        edge of the peripheral wall of the vessel;    -   the packaging method comprises a step aimed at arranging a cover        on a top tray of the stack;    -   the lid is also sealed to the cover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the presentdisclosure, which is provided with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of packaging according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 shows a delivery tray according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows the interactions of the stack of two trays at a receivingspace according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c , respectively, show a cover according to a first,second and third embodiment;

FIGS. 5, 6 a and 6 b show two delivery trays, stacked, according to thepresent disclosure; the tray receiving spaces have a solid bottom (FIG.5) or a perforated bottom (FIGS. 6a and 6b ).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

General Description of the Packaging System

As shown in FIG. 1, a packaging system 100 according to the presentdisclosure comprises a vessel 10, a stack formed by a plurality ofidentical delivery trays 20, each provided with receiving spaces 21,stacked on top of one another parallel to the bottom 10 a of the vessel10, as well as a porous lid 40 placed on the opening of the vessel 10 toclose it. The packaging system 100 can also comprise a cover 30 arrangedon the top tray 20″ of the stack. The vessel 10 containing the trays 20,and closed by the porous lid 40, is intended to be placed in at leastone airtight bag (and generally two of these bags) in which the air hasbeen evacuated in order to place the entire assembly under vacuum.

For the sake of clarity, it should be noted that, in the remainder ofthis description, the term “top tray 20′” refers to the tray 20 of thestack located furthest from the bottom 10 a of the vessel 10, and theterm “bottom tray 20′” refers to the tray located closest to the bottom10 a.

Each of the trays 20 accommodates a plurality of medical items 50 storedindividually in one of the receiving spaces 21 of the tray 20 withoutany contact being possible between them. The term “medical items 50”denotes any type of item for medical use that must remain sterile and/orclean and free from any particulate contamination. In the examplesdescribed and shown, these are stoppers intended to close vials, butthey could just as easily be any other type of medical item, such assyringes or vials. The shape and volume of the receiving spaces 21 willof course be adapted such that they can accommodate the medical item 50in question. As will become apparent in the remainder of thisdescription, stacking the trays 20 in the vessel 10 allows the receivingspaces 21 to be closed and allows the medical items 50 placed therein tobe isolated in order to limit the risk of particulate contamination.

It should be noted in this respect that medical items 50 cannot beplaced in the top tray 20″ of the stack. In this case, this top tray 20″serves the sole purpose of closing the receiving spaces of the tray ofthe stack that is directly below it. As an alternative to thispossibility, and as has already been mentioned, provision can be made toarrange a cover 30 on the top tray 20″ of the stack in order to closethe receiving spaces thereof. This cover 30 can take various forms,which will be presented in a later section of this description.

Description of the Vessel

The vessel 10 is a hollow packaging element intended to receive thetrays 20 in which the medical items 50 are placed. The vessel 10comprises an opening, a bottom 10 a and a peripheral wall 10 b thatdelimits its general shape. The peripheral wall 10 b may be providedwith a shoulder that allows the vessel 10 to be handled, in particular,by automatic equipment. Advantageously, the vessel 10 has aparallelepipedal shape in order to optimize the space required forstoring a given number of medical items 50. The dimensions of the vessel10 are chosen depending on the number of medical items 50 to bepackaged. These dimensions may comply with a norm or a standard so as tofacilitate use on an industrial scale. The vessel 10 may be formed froma plastics material, for example, polypropylene, amorphous polyethyleneterephthalate or a styrenic polymer such as polystyrene.

In the illustrated example, the bottom 10 a of the vessel 10 is providedwith bosses 11 allowing the bottom tray 20′ to be wedged and/orcentered, for example, by fitting these bosses on reliefs arranged onthe lower surface of the tray 20′. These reliefs can, for example,constitute caps, which will be described in detail in a later section ofthe present disclosure. The bottom tray 20′ (as well as the entire stackof trays) is thus immobilized in the vessel 10, the friction between thetray 20′ and the vessel 10 is limited, and the generation of particlesis thus prevented.

The bottom 10 a of the vessel 10 may optionally comprise altitudeadjustment pads (not shown) on which the bottom tray 20′ will rest.These pads make it possible to adjust the height of the stacks of trays20 so that the top tray 20″ (or the cover 30, if present) is alwaysflush with the level of the opening of the vessel 10 and of the sealinglid 40, regardless of the unit height of the trays 20; in fact, thisunit height can vary depending on the size of the medical items 50.

Description of the Delivery Trays

The stack of trays 20 of FIG. 1 comprises a plurality of trays, allidentical to each other, and an example of which in accordance with thepresent disclosure is shown in FIG. 2. Each tray 20 comprises an upperface 20 a and a lower face 20 b.

The upper face 20 a is provided with a plurality of receiving spaces 21each intended to receive a single medical item 50 in order to preventany contact between two of the items 50. The receiving spaces 21 aretypically arranged in rows on the upper face of the tray 20. A trayreceiving space 21 has a bottom 21 a, formed from the upper face 20 a ofthe tray 20, and an opening 21 b for inserting the item 50. Eachreceiving space 21 is delimited laterally by a partition 22,perpendicular to the upper face 20 a of the tray 20, which defines itsshape. This can be any shape, for example, circular, hexagonal orrectangular, adjusted to the shape and/or to the size of the medicalitems 50 that the receiving space 21 is intended to accommodate. Thepartition 22 is solid, so as to laterally isolate each of the medicalitems 50 when they are arranged in the receiving spaces 21.

The inner surface of the partition 22, that is to say, the surfaceoriented toward the inside of the receiving space 21, may be providedwith at least one flexible lateral support element 23, for example, aflexible lug 23. This support element 23 makes it possible to retain themedical item 50 in the receiving space 21 and to limit its lateralmovements. This reduces the possibilities of friction between themedical item 50 and the partition 22 as well as the risk of particlegeneration. The flexible nature of the lateral support elements 23allows this receiving space 21 to be used for different dimensions ofitems 50 and thus allows the differences in dimensions to be taken intoaccount that may exist even when these items are all identical to oneanother.

Advantageously, the receiving spaces 21 are each provided with at leastone stop 24 to prevent extensive contact between the medical item 50 andthe bottom 21 a of the receiving space 21. This stop 24 allows thefriction surface with the bottom to be limited and reduces particlegeneration. The stop may be formed by fine ribs delimited on the bottom21 a of the receiving space 21, for example, three of these ribs, or byperiodic supports, for example, three of these supports.

The lower face 20 b of the tray 20 has a plurality of caps 25, thenumber of caps in this plurality typically being equal to the number ofreceiving spaces 21 arranged on the upper face 20 a of the tray 20. Thecaps 25 are arranged on the lower face 20 b so as each to be in linewith a receiving space 21. The caps 25 here are delimited by walls 26,similarly to the receiving spaces 21, so as to have dimensionscomplementary to those of the receiving spaces 21, so that when a firsttray 20 is stacked on a second tray, identical to the first tray 20, thecaps 25 of the first tray 20 are able to close, for example, byinterlocking, the receiving spaces of the second tray that they overhang(FIG. 1). It is also conceivable that the walls 26 defining the caps 25are perfectly aligned with the partitions 22 defining the receivingspaces 21 so that the receiving spaces are closed by placing, edgeagainst edge, the walls 26 of a first tray 20 on the partitions 22 of asecond tray 20, directly under it in the stack: a receiving space 21 ofthe second tray 20 is then closed by abutment of the partition 22 of thereceiving space 21 and of the wall 26 of the cap 25, facing it, of thefirst tray 20 arranged on the second tray 20 (FIG. 5). The wall 26 issolid, so as to laterally isolate each of the medical items 50 when theyare arranged in the receiving spaces 21 closed by the caps 25 of theupper tray 20.

Each cap 25 is also defined by a bottom 25 a, formed by the lower face20 b of the associated tray 20.

As already mentioned, the caps 25 of the bottom tray 20′ of the stackcan also allow this tray to be assembled by fitting on the bosses 11 ofthe bottom 10 a of the vessel 10 (FIG. 1).

If the receiving spaces 21 are closed by fitting, the internaldimensions of the cap 25 are advantageously greater than the externaldimensions of the receiving space 21 in order to locate the possiblefriction region between the receiving spaces 21 and the caps 25 on theouter surface of the partitions of the receiving spaces 21, as isclearly visible in FIG. 3. In other words, the walls 26 of the caps 25surround the partitions 22 of the receiving spaces 21 from the outsideand are in contact with the outer surface of the partitions 22. Thisprevents particles from being generated inside the receiving spaces 21during any friction of the walls 26 against the partitions 22.Advantageously, slight lateral play will be provided, typically between0.1 and 1 mm, between the walls 26 defining the caps 25 and thepartitions 22 defining the receiving spaces 21 in order to preventforcing the interlocking of the trays 20 during their stacking, whichcould make subsequent access to the medical items retained in a traydifficult.

According to a first variant, in particular, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and5, each receiving space 21 has a solid bottom 21 a, formed by the upperface 20 a of the tray 20, and each cap 25 has a solid bottom 25 a,formed by the lower face 20 b of the tray 20. When two trays 20 arestacked, the medical items 50 (for example, stoppers), arranged in thereceiving spaces 21 of the underlying tray 20, are completely isolatedfrom each other and protected from potential particulate contaminationgenerated during transport of the packaging system 100 or when thelatter is opened.

According to a second variant, illustrated in FIGS. 6a and 6b , eachreceiving space 21 has a perforated bottom 21 a, and each cap 25 alsohas a perforated bottom 25 a, due to the presence of an orifice 28 inthe tray 20, centered on the bottom 21 a of each receiving space 21. Theorifice 28 associated with a receiving space 21 then has dimensionssmaller than the dimensions of the medical item 50 that is intended tooccupy the receiving space 21, so that the outer upper part of themedical item 50 is able to close the orifice 28. The lower part of themedical item 50 in turn is in contact with the bottom 21 a of thereceiving space 21.

This second variant is advantageous in that it limits the quantity ofmaterial used to manufacture a tray 20. It is particularly suitable inthe case of a medical item 50 in the form of a stopper 51 provided witha locking cap 52, as shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b . The stopper 51 isusually made of an elastomeric material, having a head and a foot thatis intended (in use) to be inserted into the neck of a vial. The lockingcap 52 surrounds the stopper 51 and is intended (in use) to be grippedunder the flange of the vial, when the foot of the stopper 51 is fullyinserted into the neck: the locking cap 52 comprises retaining membersable to be blocked under the collar in order to secure the stopper 51 onthe vial. The locking cap 52 also comprises means ensuring themaintenance of the stopper 51 in the cap 52 during storage and transportin the packaging system 100. Non-limiting examples of medical items 50of this type can be found in documents EP2464577 or EP2464580.

The locking cap 52 of the medical item 50 may comprise a capsule 52 aforming the outer upper part of the medical item 50. As illustrated inFIGS. 6a and 6b , it is this outer upper part 52 a that closes theorifice 28 and enables the medical items 50 of the same column (that isto say, directly above each other, in the stacked trays 20) to beisolated from each other.

In particular, the stopper 51 of the medical item 50, which constitutesthe most sensitive part in terms of contamination, is completelyisolated in the receiving space 21 of a tray 20:

by interlocking or abutment of the partition 22 of the receiving space21 of the tray 20 with the facing wall 26 of the cap 25 of an uppertray,

due to the closure of the perforated bottom 25 a of the cap 25 of theupper tray by the outer upper part 52 a of the locking cap 52 of themedical item 50 arranged in the receiving space 21 of the tray 20, andpotentially,

due to the closure of the perforated bottom 21 a of the receiving space21 by the outer upper part 52 a of the locking cap 52 of a medical item50 arranged in a tray underlying the tray 20.

In the particular case of the bottom tray 20′, the closest to the bottom10 a of the vessel 10, the orifice 28 of the perforated bottom 21 a ofthe receiving spaces 21 of the tray 20′ can be closed off by providingadditional caps or seals at the bottom 10 a of the vessel 10, or theorifices 28 can be left open.

According to a third variant, which mixes the first and secondaforementioned variants, only part (at least one) of the receivingspaces 21 of a tray 20 may have a perforated bottom 21 a, the other parthaving a solid bottom 21 a.

Returning to the general description, it is advantageously possible toprovide at least some of the caps 25 with a tray 20 of vertical supportelements 27 (visible in FIG. 3 in the form of a flexible tab 27), inorder to maintain and limit the vertical movement of the medical items50 arranged in the receiving spaces of the underlying tray. This reducesany friction associated with the movement of the medical item 50 withinthe receiving space 21. Just like for the lateral support elements 23,the flexible nature of the vertical support elements 27 allows areceiving space 21 to be used for different dimensions of items 50and/or allows the variations in dimensions of these items to be takeninto account.

Advantageously, the upper part of the receiving spaces 21, that is tosay, the upper end of the partitions 22, is deformable. In the exampleof FIG. 3, the upper end of the partitions 22 has a pointed profile. Thecompressive forces exerted on the upper end of the partitions 22 duringthe stacking of the trays 20 lead to their deformation by crushing,which makes it possible to compensate for any defects in the flatness ofthe trays 20. This ensures that all the receiving spaces of the traysare properly closed, in particular, during a subsequent vacuumizationstep of the vessel.

The trays may be made of a plastics material, for example, polypropyleneor thermoplastic elastomer or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT).

Each tray 20 advantageously comprises a peripheral gripping rim 20 c,which may be located in the lateral extension of the upper 20 a andlower 20 b faces, as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Alternatively, ascan be seen in FIGS. 5, 6 a and 6 b, the peripheral gripping rim 20 ccan be located in the lateral extension of the upper end of thepartitions 22 of the receiving spaces 21.

Description of the Cover

The term “cover” is used to denote any element placed in the vessel 10,on the top tray 20″ of the stack, in order to close the receiving spacesthereof. This therefore avoids leaving this top tray 20″ empty of anymedical item 50, as has been mentioned previously.

According to a first embodiment, illustrated by FIG. 4a , the cover 30may be a rigid plate 30 provided on its lower face with a plurality ofcaps 32 able to close the receiving spaces 21 of the bottom tray 20′,for example, by interlocking. These caps 32 are therefore identical, intheir shapes, dimensions and arrangements on the lower face of the plate30, to the caps 25 of the trays 20. The rigid plate 30 and the caps 32may be formed from the same material as that forming the trays 20, andthe plate may have similar dimensions.

In a variant of this embodiment, the plate may be composed of aplurality of individual strips 30′ intended to cover and, respectively,close the rows of receiving spaces 21 of the top tray 20″. These strips30′ can be secured to the porous lid 40, for example, by welding, sothat removing the lid 40 (when opening the packaging system 100)naturally leads to opening the receiving spaces 21 of the top tray 20″.In this embodiment in which the strips 30′ are rigid, they are arranged,preferably, perpendicular to the direction of removal of the porous lid40 in order to facilitate its removal.

According to a second embodiment, illustrated by FIG. 4b , the cover 30comprises a flexible plate or of a plurality of flexible strips 30′, thelower face of which is provided with a cap 32 similar to those of thetrays 20. Like in the first embodiment, the strips 30′ are configured toclose a row of receiving spaces 21 of the top tray 20″ of the stack. Toimpart or improve the flexible nature of a strip 30′, the latter can beformed by relatively narrow bending regions 33, interconnectingrelatively wide support regions bearing the caps 32.

The flexible strip 30′ and the caps 32 may be formed by a flexiblematerial, for example, based on thermoplastic elastomers.

This second embodiment is very particularly advantageous when theflexible plate 30 or the strips 30′ are secured to the lid 40 thatcloses the vessel 10. The receiving spaces 21 of the top tray 20″ of thestack placed in this vessel are then opened when this lid is removed,and the medical items 50 stored in the receiving spaces 21 of the toptray 20″ are immediately accessed. If the strips 30′ are flexibleenough, they can be arranged without any particular orientation withrespect to the opening direction of the lid 40.

According to a third embodiment, illustrated by FIG. 4c , provision canalso be made for the cover 30 to be implemented by a plurality ofunitary caps 30″, these caps being arranged, respectively, on thereceiving spaces of the top tray 20″ in order to close them. They can besoft or rigid caps.

Description of the Lid

The porous lid 40 is intended to be sealed, for example, by means ofplastic welding, on the upper edges of the peripheral wall 10 b of thevessel 10, once the vessel has been filled with the trays 20 carryingthe medical items 50 and optionally the cover. The porous lid isintended to keep the medical items 50 clean and to prevent particlesfrom entering the vessel 10. The air porosity of the lid 40 makes itpossible to extract the air from the vessel during a subsequentvacuumization step. It may be, for example, made of TYVEK®, a materialcommonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.

When provision is made to place a cover 30 in the vessel on the top tray20″ of the stack, as has already been mentioned with reference to thetwo embodiments of this cover 30, the porous lid can also be sealed, forexample, by welding, to this cover 30 simultaneously with its sealing onthe upper edges of the peripheral wall 10 b of the vessel 10.

To allow this, the elements of the packaging system 100 are dimensionedso that the exposed surface of the cover 30 (whichever embodiment ischosen), when the latter is placed on the top tray 20″ of the stack oftrays, is flush with the upper edge of the wall of the vessel 10.

Description of the Packaging Method

In order to minimize contamination by particles and in order to preservethe possible sterility of the medical items 50, the various stepsdescribed below are carried out, preferably, in a controlledenvironment.

A first tray 20′, the bottom tray 20′ of the stack, is arranged on thebottom 10 a of the vessel 10 so as to align and fit the caps 25 of thelower face 21 a of the first tray 20′ with the bosses 11 of the bottom10 a of vessel 10 (if present). Medical items 50 are then, or werepreviously, placed in the receiving spaces 21 of the first tray 20′.

Then, a second tray 20 is arranged on the first tray 20′. The caps 25arranged on the lower face of the second tray close the receiving spaces21 of the first tray 20′. Medical items 50 are arranged in eachreceiving space 21 of the second tray 20 before or after this operation.This is repeated as many times as there are trays 20 to be placed in thevessel 10 and until the last tray 20″ is placed, forming the top tray20″ of the stack.

In the event that no cover 30 is provided, the last tray 20″ is keptempty, that is to say, without placing medical items in its receivingspaces 21.

Otherwise, a cover 30 is placed on the upper face 20 a of the top tray20″ of the stack in order to close its receiving spaces 21, in which themedical items have been placed beforehand. As has already beenmentioned, this cover can be formed by a plate provided with caps, whichis therefore arranged integrally on the top tray 20″. It may be,alternatively, a plurality of flexible or rigid strips 30′ bearing caps,and placed in rows on the top tray 20″ so as to close the receivingspaces 21, or else unitary caps 30″ arranged on each receiving space 21.Optionally, a combination of these options can be used to close thereceiving spaces 21 of the top tray 20″.

The porous lid 40 is then arranged on the top tray 20″ or on the cover30, then secured to the upper edges of the wall 10 b of the vessel 10,as well as possibly to the flexible plate 30 or to the strips 30′ and/orunitary caps 30″ when these are present.

In a following step, the vessel 10, the opening of which has been closedby the porous lid 40, is placed in at least one airtight bag (and,preferably, two bags for safety reasons), and the vacuumization iscarried out in this bag before it is hermetically sealed. Thevacuumization of the assembly allows the various components of theassembly 100 to be blocked vertically, and therefore allows eachreceiving space 21 to be closed individually. Any defects in theflatness of the trays 20 and of the cover 30 are compensated for by thedeformable nature of the partitions 22 of the receiving spaces 21 and bythe relative flexibility of the trays 20. The vacuumization also makesit possible to horizontally block the various components of the assembly100 by deforming the peripheral wall 10 b of the vessel 10 in order topress it against the edge of the trays 20. The vacuumization thereforemakes it possible to limit the friction between the various elements ofthe assembly 100 and thus the generation of particles by friction byblocking the vertical and horizontal movement of the elements.

Opening the Packaging System

To open the packaging system and access the medical items packagedtherein, the vessel 10 containing the stack of trays 20 is first of alltaken out of the bag. The lid 40 is then removed to expose the cover 30,when the latter is present. The cover 30 is extracted from the vessel,for example, using a suction cup when the latter is in the form of arigid plate, to expose the receiving spaces 21 of the top tray 20″. Whenit is in the form of rigid or flexible strips sealed to the lid 40,opening this lid naturally leads to removing the caps from the receivingspaces 21, without any additional operation. The medical items 50 canthen be picked up individually or row by row, manually and/orautomatically by a machine. Once the top tray 20″ has been emptied ofits medical items 50, the latter is also removed to expose the receivingspaces 21 and the medical items 50 of the underlying tray 20. Theseoperations are repeated until all the medical items 50 stored in thevessel 10 have been removed.

Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodimentsdescribed and it is possible to add variants without departing from thescope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Although a single type of receiving space delimited by partitions hasbeen described here, other shapes or configurations could be envisaged.The receiving spaces can, for example, be arranged in cells to optimizethe space in the vessel, the inner surface of a partition of onereceiving space forming the outer surface of a partition of anotherreceiving space. The receiving spaces could equally well correspond to arecess formed in a tray or be a combination of recesses and partitions.

Finally, although here is put forward a fitting of the caps on thereceiving spaces carried out from the outside to locate the possiblefriction region on the outer surface of the receiving spaces, it is, ofcourse, possible to have the reverse. In this case, the externaldimensions of the cap 25 are smaller than the internal dimensions of thereceiving space 21 so that the fitting of the cap 25 takes place fromthe inside.

What is claimed is:
 1. A delivery tray for medical items, the traycomprising a lower face and an upper face, the upper face having aplurality of receiving spaces each intended to receive a single medicalitem; and wherein the lower face of the tray has a plurality of caps,the caps being arranged and sized such that when the tray is stacked ona second identical tray, the caps of the tray are able to close thereceiving spaces of the second tray.
 2. The delivery tray of claim 1,wherein: each receiving space is delimited laterally by a partitionperpendicular to the upper face of the tray, each cap is delimitedlaterally by a wall perpendicular to the lower face of the tray, and thecaps of the tray are arranged, respectively, in line with the receivingspaces of the tray and are sized, respectively, to close the receivingspaces of a second identical tray underlying the tray, by interlockingor abutment of the partitions of the receiving spaces of the second trayand the walls of the caps of the tray facing it.
 3. The delivery tray ofclaim 1, wherein the receiving spaces each have an inner surface, theinner surface of the receiving spaces being provided with at least onelateral support element to support and limit the lateral movements ofthe medical item in the receiving space.
 4. The delivery tray of claim3, wherein the caps are each provided with a vertical support element tosupport and limit the vertical movement of a medical item arranged inthe receiving space of the second tray on which the tray has beenstacked.
 5. The delivery tray of claim 1, wherein each receiving spacehas a solid bottom, formed by the upper face of the tray, each cap alsohaving a solid bottom, formed by the lower face of the tray.
 6. Thedelivery tray of claim 1, wherein at least one receiving space has aperforated bottom, due to the presence of an orifice in the tray,centered on the bottom of the at least one receiving space, the orificehaving dimensions smaller than the dimensions of the medical item thatis intended to occupy the at least one receiving space.
 7. The deliverytray of claim 1, wherein an upper part of the receiving spaces isdeformable.
 8. A packaging system for medical items, comprising: avessel having an opening, a bottom and a peripheral wall; a stack formedby a plurality of trays according to claim 1, the stack being placed inthe vessel; and a porous lid that is sealed on an upper edge of theperipheral wall of the vessel to close it.
 9. The packaging system ofclaim 8, further comprising a cover arranged on the stack of trays toclose the receiving spaces of a top tray of the stack.
 10. The packagingsystem of claim 9, wherein the cover is a rigid plate provided on alower face with a plurality of caps capable of closing the receivingspaces of the top tray of the stack.
 11. The packaging system of claim9, wherein the cover comprises a plurality of strips provided with capscapable of closing the receiving spaces of the top tray of the stack.12. The packaging system of claim 11, wherein the strips and the capscomprise a flexible material.
 13. The packaging system of claim 12,wherein each strip comprises bending regions formed between each cap.14. The packaging system of claim 8, wherein the receiving spaces of atop tray of the stack are closed by unitary stoppers.
 15. The packagingsystem of claim 8, wherein the bottom of the vessel is provided withbosses configured to fit into the caps of a bottom tray of the stack.16. The packaging system of claim 8, wherein the vessel is placed undervacuum in at least one sealed bag.
 17. A method of packaging medicalitems, comprising the following steps: providing a vessel having anopening, a bottom and a peripheral wall; arranging a bottom trayaccording to claim 1 at the bottom of the vessel; arranging at least oneadditional tray according to claim 1 to form a stack of trays in thevessel, the caps of the additional tray closing the receiving spaces ofa directly underlying tray; sealing a porous lid on an upper edge of theperipheral wall of the vessel; and placing the vessel in at least oneimpermeable bag, and placing the bag under vacuum.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the lid is rigidly connected to the vessel by weldingthe lid onto the upper edge of the peripheral wall of the vessel. 19.The method of claim 17, further comprising arranging a cover on a toptray of the stack.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the lid is sealedto the cover.